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Santa Fe #3751 Under Full Steam (1955?)
Actually the morning of December 28, 1991, see below.
Update 8/4/2001, from Hank and Sue Graham, The picture was taken Dec. 30, 1991.
Details
Engineer waving.
Detail of Driver Wheels.
Front of Engine
Rear Track of Engine
Domes on top of Engine.
Subject: Re: Winfield, KS
Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997
From: Evan Werkema
Organization: very little...
The picture which you have titled "Santa Fe #3751 Under Full Steam (1955?)" was actually taken in 1991. Diesel 97 behind the steamer is the giveaway. The 3751 is the only large Santa Fe steam engine that has been restored to operational condition so far. The picture was taken during the engine's first fantrip run in California between 12/27 and 12/30/91.
Subject: RE Picture: SF 3751 Under Full Steam
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000
From: "Paul Prine"
The "engineer" in this photo is Vince Cipolla, a retired SP engineer, who was firing 3751 at this particular time on our Bakerfield inagural trip in December, 1991. This picture was taken on the morning of December 28 as 3751 was running WB from Barstow to Mojave. I was part of the train crew.
Paul Prine
SBRHS
Subject: SF 3751 Under Steam;
Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2001
From: Hank & Sue Graham
Organization: BNSF/SBRHS/WARM
I too was on that trip along with Paul Prine and the whole gang. What a trip.The picture of 3751 was actually taken on December 30th, 1991, leaving Barstow, approaching Lenwood, on the last leg from Barstow to Los Angeles. It was day 4 of the 4 day trip. A similar view was taken at the same location by Glen Icanberry, that was used on a large poster, to advertise Santa Fe's first Employee Appreciation Special that followed in August & September of 1992. Copies of that poster are available in a limited number for a $25 donation at the WARM museum in the Harvey House in Barstow.
The 2nd diesel behind the 3751 was the #95 which is now owned by the Western America Railroad Museum of Barstow and presently on display near the Harvey House & RR depot in Barstow. You can check out our web site @; http://www.barstowrailmuseum.org/
Hank Graham, WARM President and SBRHS Volunteer.
June 17, 2002
This engine, the 3751 was the first of a new series of 4-8-4s called the Santa Fe "Super Northerns" built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1927. The original 3751 had 73-inch drivers and a 210 psi boiler. Starting almost as soon as the first engines were delivered a program was begun to upgrade the 3751s. The upgrades, first delivered in August 1941, were rebuilt with 80 inch drivers and a 230-psi boiler which changed its overall appearance slightly. The drawbar power of 3751 was increased from 2,080 horsepower to 3,500 at sixty miles per hour. The whole set of these engines were referred to as the "3751s". They were assigned to the run from Los Angeles to Wellington, KS. This was the longest run on the railroad and was known as the Grand Canyon Limited. A second series known as 3765s were ordered beginning in the spring of 1938. These had 80-inch drivers, 300-psi boilers and delivered 5450 horsepower. A third set of engines were purchased in 1943 and 1944. Because of the limits on lightweight materials available during the was, these engines weighed in at 510,700 pounds. This compares to the 3765 at 499,600 pounds and the original 3751 at a lightwieght 423,000 pounds.
By 1954 the need for big, heavy, powerfull steam engines had been satisfied by much more efficient diesels. Engine 3751 ended up her career in a park across from the passenger station in San Bernardino, CA. Her resurection was began in 1986 by the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society. This hard charging group had her fired back up by December 1991. The picture above is the maiden voyage of the oldest 4-8-4 in existance, a tribute to the railfans mentioned above who rebuilt her and operated her on her Christmas celebration trip, 1991. A great article about 3751 can be found on pages 105-108 of "The Steam Locomotive: ACentury of North American Classics" by Jim Boyd, published by Metrobooks 2002.
So we now have some insight into the mystery of why the picture of a restored California steam engine is in the archives of the Cowley County Historical Museum in Winfield, KS. There were probably a lot of people from Winfield who rode this train from Wellington (20miles west of Winfield) to Los Angeles in the '40s and early '50s. In their mind's eye, this picture would be the train they rode. A big, powerfull steam locomotive that pounded its way to California in an unforgettable journey as the Grand Canyon Limited.
